Nickel-catalyzed arylation, alkenylation, and alkynylation of unprotected thioglycosides at room temperature.

Unprotected thioglycosides were effective nucleophiles for Ni(0)-catalyzed C-S bond-forming reaction with functionalized (hetero)aryl, alkenyl, and alkynyl halides. The functional-group tolerance on the electrophilic partner was typically high and the anomeric selectivities of the thioglycosides were high in all cases. The efficiency of this general procedure was well-demonstrated by the synthesis of 4-methyl-7-thioumbelliferyl-β-D-cellobioside (MUS-CB).